Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE), in collaboration with Applied Computer Security Associates (ACSA) and the Computing Research Association’s Committee on the Status of Women in Computing Research (CRA-W), today announced 16 new recipients and 8 continuing recipients of the 2016 Scholarship for Women Studying Information Security (SWSIS).

Now in its third year of funding by HPE, the scholarship program has supported 46 collegiate women working to join the growing security industry, which is faced with a significant talent gap. In fact, the lack of access to skilled security resources was the number one concern of Security Operations Center leaders interviewed in a 2016 report from HPE.1 This ongoing scholarship reinforces the company’s dedication to addressing that challenge by supporting talented women interested in building a career in IT security through academic funding and hands-on internship opportunities.

While the volume and cost of enterprise security breaches rise2, security and business leaders struggle to fill positions that allow them to better defend and protect their organizations.3HPE is committed to doing its part to address these industry-wide challenges by providing resources in support of both education and training initiatives. To simultaneously ensure diversity, as women only represent ten percent of the information security workforce,4 HPE committed a $250,000 four-year grant to the SWSIS scholarship program, initiated in 2014.

In 2016, HPE, ACSA and CRA-W are funding 24 scholarships for undergraduates and masters’ degree candidates from colleges and universities across the United States including:

California Polytechnic State University – San Luis Obispo

California State University, Northridge

Carnegie Mellon University

Cornell University

Dakota State University

DePaul University

Eastern Michigan University

Embry Riddle Aeronautical University

Ferris State University

George Mason University

Indiana University at Bloomington

Marshall University

Pennsylvania State University

State University of New York at Albany

University of Colorado at Boulder

University of Maryland Baltimore County

University of Maryland University College

University of North Texas

University of Northwestern

University of South Florida

Wilmington University

Youngstown State University

“CRA-W is proud to be part of the SWSIS scholarship program,” said Rebecca Wright, professor at Rutgers University (@RutgersU) and co-director of the ACSA/CRA-W SWSIS scholarship program. “SWSIS has the potential to make a positive impact both on these students’ lives and on the information security workforce.”

“There weren’t many computer classes offered when I was in high school, and I really didn’t know much about cybersecurity until I entered undergrad,” said Kaitlyn Kelly, rising senior at SUNY Albany (@ualbany) and one of this year’s SWSIS scholars. “Now more than ever, it’s so important to raise awareness about opportunities in the security field, and to show women that it’s something they can be a part of. I look forward to continuing down this path, and hope to participate in more initiatives like the SWSIS program that are actively encouraging women to pursue cybersecurity as a career.”

SWSIS scholarship detailsThe SWSIS program was founded by ACSA, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the understanding, theory and practice of cybersecurity. The SWSIS scholarship program is a joint effort between HPE, ACSA and CRA-W.